BOSTON — Maybe Juan Soto took on too much.
In the bottom of the eighth inning of the game, with the Yankees suddenly trailing by one run, he ignored or was unaware of his third-base coach and sprinted through a stop sign for Luis Rojas.
After Aaron Judge’s double brought one in, Soto was called out while trying to score from first base, a fitting example of a superstar trying to give his team a needed win that backfired.
Meanwhile, among Judge’s most astonishing qualities is his ability to never seem too much.
When a pitcher doesn’t give the batter many chances, he usually chooses to walk.
When a pitcher offers him something, he usually does something with it.
In a sport where trying too hard can be self-destructive, he rarely applies pressure.
Judge again gave his all at the plate, taking on the pitcher’s demands and going 4-for-4 with 3 RBI to lead the Yankees to an 11-8, 10-overtime victory over the Red Sox on Saturday at Fenway Park.
Boston’s Cutter Crawford, after giving up a home run to Soto in the top of the first inning, elected to pitch to Judge, who smashed the second pitch he saw into left-center field for his second consecutive home run.
In the third inning, with no one on base and one out, Judge singled to left field.
For some reason, Crawford pitched to Judge again in the fifth inning, and with Alex Verdugo on third base and one out, Judge again singled to left field.
Leading off the top of the seventh, Judge was down 0-2 against Josh Winckowski, but he walked and eventually scored.
Judge hit an RBI double while Soto was out in the eighth inning, then walked on five pitches in the 10th.
Doing the math, that was the first time in 939 career games that he reached base six times and reached base six times. It’s rare for Judge to accomplish something for the first time in a ninth season.
“He’s just so consistent,” manager Aaron Boone said of Judge, who has reached base five times in one of eight games so far. “Forget how great a player he is in the lineup, how great a hitter he is, but no matter what situation we’re in, whether we’re on a roll or struggling, he’s always the same focused, energetic team player.”
“That’s all we’ve seen from him so far.”
Judge’s batting average has risen to .314 and his on-base percentage is an MLB-best .445. Incidentally, his major league-best 37th home run came in his 104th game. Judge hit 43 home runs in 104 games during his record-extending 2022 season.
“Judge was a special player,” Marcus Stroman said, “just like he has been all year.”
And as he has done for most of his career, Judge was more likely to respond to questions about his own accomplishments with statements about his team.
“We came out today ready to do our job,” Judge said of his awakened offense. “That’s what this team is about. You’re going to have some tough moments, some tough losses, but we came out with the win today.”
